Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/1189422
7 December 2 Adoption dAy "He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will." – Ephesians 1:5 I've been thinking a lot about adoption recently. Several months ago we adopted our now five-year-old grandson, Rico, who had been in our care since he was four months old. Moving from guardianship to adoption, outwardly, didn't change our lives very much, but we took this step in order to ensure that Rico would unquestionably benefit from the same rights and privileges as our young adult sons, even upon our deaths. But more importantly, we wanted Rico to know that he was safe and secure with us, that even if other people were in and out of his life, he could count on us to be there for him. Friends, family, and colleagues filled the courthouse on Rico's adoption day and joined in a lunch celebration. Rico will always remember his adoption day as something significant and special. I find it interesting that adoption is a theme in the Christmas story; Jesus himself was not Joseph's biological son, but He was adopted by Joseph and was known as Joseph the carpenter's son. In several passages in the New Testament (e.g., Rom. 8:15, 23; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5) the term "adoption to sonship" is used to describe our new relationship to God through Christ. This provides a clear, positive message about the value of adoption in God's eyes. God could have loved us without adopting us, but He chose to make us His children with full legal standing. As adopted sons and daughters, we can rest in God's love since He chose us, knowing that whether or not we can count on our earthly families, we will not be abandoned by God, and that both our present and our future are secure. What greater gift is there than that? Heather Davediuk Gingrich, PhD professor of Counseling